Ward family

In 1925 Harvard University inherited the Artemas Ward Homestead from a member of the Ward family. The house was the home of General Artemas Ward, first commander-in-chief of the patriot forces, and was occupied by his descendents until 1909. It was opened to the public by one of Ward's descendants, also Artemas Ward, from 1909 to 1925 when it was given to Harvard University. Harvard currently operates the house as a historic house museum. The house contains over 1,250 eighteenth- and nineteenth-century objects; most of these were owned by members of the Ward family. Photographs documenting late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century changes to the house have been preserved as well. Family papers, ranging in date from the mid-seventeenth to the twentieth century, also survive in the collections of the American Antiquarian Society and the Massachusetts Historical Society. Those in the possession of the American Antiquarian Society were donated to that institution by Harvard in 1931 and later. The Ward Homestead is located in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts which is about 35 miles from Harvard's main campus. It is open on a seasonal basis to the public and on an "as needed" basis to Harvard students enrolled in specific courses.